A Woman in Berlin
Memoir Intermediate Primary Sources
🇩🇪 German
An anonymous German woman's diary of the Soviet conquest of Berlin and the mass sexual violence that followed.
The Verdict
One of the rawest and most important documents of the war's end, and for decades one of the most uncomfortable. An anonymous German woman kept a diary through the Soviet capture of Berlin in 1945, recording with unflinching clarity the mass rape of the city's women and the brutal pragmatism of survival. Suppressed in Germany for a generation because it refused to let German women be only victims or only innocents, it is now recognised as an essential, devastating account of what defeat did to civilians.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The civilian experience of Berlin's fall
- An unflinching account of wartime sexual violence
- Readers who want testimony without consolation
- A woman's perspective on total defeat
Look elsewhere if you want
- Military narrative of the battle (see Beevor)
- Readers unprepared for its harrowing subject
- A redemptive or comforting story
Why We Rated It 4.7
Historical Context
The Battle of Berlin (April–May 1945) ended with the Soviet capture of the city, during which tens of thousands of German women were raped. The anonymous author's diary covers those weeks. Published in the 1950s, it was attacked in Germany and withdrawn; it was reissued to acclaim after the author's death, her anonymity preserved at her request.
Criticisms & Debates
On publication some German readers accused the author of besmirching German women's honour; the book was effectively suppressed for decades. Later, brief debate touched on the diary's editing and the author's identity (the journalist Marta Hillers), but its authenticity and importance are now widely accepted.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Virago / Picador editionThe standard English translation by Philip Boehm, with an introduction by Antony Beevor.
Read It Alongside
The Fall of Berlin 1945 Antony Beevor · 2002 · ★ 4.6
Popular History 
The Last Battle Cornelius Ryan · 1966 · ★ 4.6
Popular History Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-0312426170
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Who wrote A Woman in Berlin?
- It was published anonymously at the author's wish; she is now generally identified as the journalist Marta Hillers. She declined to have her name attached during her lifetime.
- What is it about?
- A German woman's diary of the Soviet capture of Berlin in 1945, including the mass rape of the city's women and the daily struggle to survive.